After losing four matches in a row,Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) finally pulled off a convincing victory as theybeat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by five wickets in their IPL clash on the back of somedisciplined bowling from their spinners, which helped restrict Punjabfranchise to 123/9 in 20 overs at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Monday.
A 66-run fourth-wicket stand betweenskipper Eoin Morgan (47 not out off 40 balls) and Rahul Tripathi (41 off 32balls) provided the base for the Kolkata franchise to reach the target with 3.2overs to spare.
Earlier, Sunil Narine took 2/22, whileVarun Chakravarthy scalped 1/24 as KKR picked up wickets at frequent intervalsto derail the PBKS innings.
Only opener Mayank Agarwal (31 off 34balls) and tailender Chris Jordan (30 off 18) could be worthwhile contributorsfor PBKS.
Agarwal had shared a 36-run openingstand with skipper K.L. Rahul in 5.4 overs but three quick wickets -- that ofRahul (19), Chris Gayle (0), and Deepak Hooda (1) -- set the Punjab franchiseback, reducing them to 42/3 in 7.4 overs.
Agarwal also departed soon as thespinners came into operation during the middle overs. When Nicholas Pooran (19)was dismissed with just 79 runs on board, PBKS were in danger of getting bowledout for under 100. However, Jordan hit some lusty blows to take the team totheir eventual total.
In response, KKR started on a miserablenote, getting reduced to 17/3 at the end of the third over, losing the wicketsof Nitish Rana (0), Shubman Gill (9), and Sunil Narine (0).
Tripathi survived a runout scare beforehe hung on to help Morgan resurrect the innings. By the time Tripathi wasdismissed, KKR were already on course for a victory, needing 41 to win off 54balls.
Morgan, who had a torrid tournament thusfar, finally came good as he hit two sixes and four fours to help his sidecross the finishing line.
KKR has now moved to the fifth positionon the points table while PBKS are placed sixth. Both teams have two wins fromsix matches, but a better net run rate puts KKR ahead.
Brief scores: Punjab Kings 123/9 in 20overs (M Agarwal 31, C Jordan 30, P Krishna 3/30, S Narine 2/22, V Chakravarthy1/24) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 126/5 in 16.4 overs (E Morgan 47 not out, RTripathi 41).